life and doctor foster

The link between BBC's Life and Doctor Foster revealed

Life is a spin-off of popular drama Doctor Foster

Senior Features Writer
October 13, 2020

BBC drama Life has proved popular with viewers over recent weeks. The six-part series, which began last month, tells the story of four different families all going through different life situations and set-backs exploring love, loss, birth and death.

MORE: Viewers in tears after watching BBC's Life

The programme, which stars The Crown's Victoria Hamilton and Gavin and Stacey actress Alison Steadman, is in fact a spin-off on another popular BBC series, Doctor Foster. So how are the two linked? Find out here...

WATCH: the official trailer for Doctor Foster spin-off, Life 

In Doctor Foster, Suranne Jones played the role of Gemma Foster, a GP who discovers early on in the story that her husband Simon has been having a two-year affair. Gemma's friend Annabelle Baker, played by Victoria Hamilton, lives across the road and is often a source of comfort for her neighbour while navigating her husband's infidelities.

MORE: Life star Alison Steadman is unrecognisable in stunning throwback snaps

© Photo: BBC

Suranne Jones played Gemma Foster back in 2015

Annabelle's husband Neil, played by Adam James, ends up having a brief affair with Gemma, and Neil and Annabelle eventually divorce. In Life, Annabelle's story comes to the surface. After splitting from her husband Neil, she moves to Manchester to start a new life.

Now going by the name of Belle, she's working as a Pilates teacher and is enjoying her new lease of life, but a visit from the past leaves her questioning her current situation. While the connection between the two series will surely excite fans of Doctor Foster, Life also focuses on the lives of new characters.

MORE: Meet the cast of Life, the Doctor Foster spin-off everyone's talking about

© Photo: BBC

Victoria Hamilton as Bella in Life

"As each of the four stories unfold and intertwine in surprising ways, they tell a larger story about what happens when we step out of our personal space and take a closer look into other people's lives," the synopsis reads.

The show also follows the lives of Gail, (Alison Steadman) whose life is thrown into question after a chance encounter. David, played by Adrian Lester, finds his marriage shaken by his brush with temptation; and Hannah, portrayed by Melissa Johns, also has her relationship tested by the return of a former flame.

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